The Wand
by sunnyblainey
Summary: Why Charlie's old wand came to the hands of his little brother. Pre-Hogwarts one-shot


**The story behind Ron having Charlie's old wand.**

~*~

9-year-old Ron Weasley couldn't have been more upset than he was right now. He was the youngest Weasley boy, and the second youngest child. He was upset at the moment, because his eleven year old twin brothers were off to Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies as they were starting Hogwarts this year. Ron was currently whining that Fred had tried to put spiders in his orange juice at breakfast, which Fred was denying with a look of pure innocence. Mrs. Weasley was rushing around the house pointedly ignoring the wails of a distressed Ron, the denial of a lying Fred and a snickering George. She was yelling at Charlie about his hair, while trying to get a, 8-year-old Ginny into a rather ugly looking set of robes that kept mysteriously shrinking or growing too large, while Percy was pestering about his Hogsmeade form. Suddenly there was a loud bang and every one went silent. Fred was covered in peanut butter and jelly from head to toe. Ron was holding a sandwich that had obviously contained PB and J at one point with tears still running down his face. George stared open mouthed at his little brother, then cracked a grin.

"Bloody brilliant…"

"Language, George!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly. She gave up on Ginny's robes and proceeded to send Fred upstairs to clean up. She then turned on Ron, whose grin faded immediately,

"I didn't mean to Mum, I swear!" He defended.

"Ronald, you're 9 years old. You should have better control by now. Get your robes on and be ready by the fireplace in ONE MINUTE!" Ginny took this as a hint and put on the ugly robes without complaint and sat down on the floor next to the fireplace while Ron complained loudly about not having robes that fit. Fred was cleaned up in record time as he was excited for Diagon Alley, but it didn't stop him from slipping a spider into his little brother's robes as he walked to the fireplace. Ron's screams were almost heard in Ottery St. Catchpole.

Finally, after Mrs. Weasley had calmed Ron down, scolded Fred, and got Ginny back into her ugly robes, the family was on in Flourish and Blott's purchasing books for Fred, George, Percy, and Charlie. Bill separated from the family and went to apply for a job at Gringott's. Ron and Ginny were both scowling as they left the store, neither were very happy that this year wasn't their year for Hogwarts. It continued like this for every store, each of the brothers would get something new and excited while Ron and Ginny got nothing except scolding and stern looks for looking at the merchandise longing and sometimes touching it.

It wasn't until they got to Ollivander's that Ron broke down completely. Fred and George were taking quite a long time with trying out wands. None of them seemed to like them very much. Charlie was also getting a new wand that year, as his had been malfunctioning recently. This was being paid for by giving Fred and George robes that Percy and Charlie had worn in their first years. Ron was now hysterical because he wanted a wand so badly. Ginny was also grumpy because she was again being ignored. Mrs. Weasley was trying to calm Ron down; Mr. Weasley was growing more and more exasperated with the twins seeming inability to find a wand. Charlie had found his about ten minutes ago, and Mr. Weasley paid for it so Charlie could go help his mother with the crying children just outside the store.

"Ronald Weasley! You are too young for a wand, and that's final! You'll get one when you go to Hogwarts like everyone else!"

"Mum?" said Ginny.

"If you ask me one more time for a wand you won't ever get one and you will most certainly NOT be going to Hogwarts, am I making myself clear?"

"Mum?"

"But Mum, Fred and George are getting one!" Ron whined. 

"Mum!"

"Their going to Hogwarts, they are eleven. I thought we went over this already!"

"Muuuuuuuuuum!" Ginny was tugging at her mother's sleeve, when Charlie exited Ollivander's shop. He took in the scene with a bemused expression. Just then a bang sounded from within the shop, he peered through a window and noted that one of the wands George had tried was most definitely not the right fit. He turned back to his mother and little siblings. Ginny's impatience was now at it's end. She took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Ginny! What's gotten into you?" Mrs. Weasley finally took notice of her youngest and Ginny blurted out,

"I have to pee." Charlie took Ron's hand and told his mother he'd watch him while she took Ginny to the loo. After they had left, Charlie led his little brother to a bench. Ron was still sniffling, but Charlie had always been his favorite brother so he was feeling slightly better.

"What's wrong, mate?" Charlie asked. Ron opened his mouth and a jumble of "I want a wand!" and "I want to go to Hogwarts!" and "I wish Fred and George would stop picking on me!" came pouring out. Charlie hugged his brother tightly and said,

"Listen mate, I know it's hard to believe, but you'll be in school soon. Before you know it you'll have a wand and you'll be the greatest at hexing. In the meantime though, let's try a little experiment." He reached inside his robes and pulled out his old wand. He looked at it, then handed it to Ron. The nine year old's face lit up and he took it excitedly. Almost immediately flowers started blooming everywhere and the umbrella they had been sitting near flared out. Charlie grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. "Not bad, kid." Ron was smiling from ear to ear. "Tell you what, you can't have it yet because mum would murder me, but when you go off to school it'll be yours okay?" For the first time, Ron looked quite excited at the prospect of a hand-me-down from one of his brothers. He jumped into Charlie's arms and hugged him for a good ten minutes. This is how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley found them when Fred and George had finally found wands.

Charlie lifted his little brother up and told his parents they were ready to go. Normally Ron hated being carried around, but this time, he allowed it. He knew that his time at Hogwarts would come, and that it would be full of fantastic adventures. In the meantime, he contented him self with the thought of Charlie's wand, which would some day, be his.

~*~  
>AN  
><strong>So it may be a little OOC but I think Charlie was Ron's favorite brother at one point because he spoke so fondly of him in the first book. I also figure there had to be some reason why Ron was able to use Charlie's old wand. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this!<strong>


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